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Welcome to Your English Toolbox, the podcast thattrains your English while you live your real life.
I am Martin. And I am Julia.
You met Juan earlier in our final small talkconversation.
Today, he is back to tell his own stories.
Hello, I am Juan. I am 24. And I am from Sants, aneighborhood in Barcelona.
I moved to Wolverhampton to study business. I alsowork in a cafe near the station.
How did you feel after that conversation?
I liked it very much. It was strange to hear mystory on a podcast, but I loved talking with you.
We spoke about my first year here, when I couldunderstand English,
but could not always join the conversation.
I understood almost everything, but I still feltoutside the room.
And you think some listeners know that feeling?
Yes. Maybe you have studied English for years,
and you still hesitate when somebody speaks to youat work.
Maybe you know the words, but your voicedisappears when the moment is important.
That happened to me. I was good at exercises,
but becoming fluent with real people was muchharder.
I had to learn how to ask for help, how to makefriends,
and how to speak when I was afraid of making amistake.
Is that why you wanted to come back?
Yes, and because you invited me. I enjoyed ourlast conversation so much
that I am joining the team in two new programs.During the week, I will share a short episode
about a phrase or a misunderstanding from everydaylife. On Sundays, I will spend more
time with Martin and Julia telling you whathappens in my second year here.
I will share the things that helped me and thethings I got wrong,
so you can use them in your own life.
These are small moments from real life, notperfect conversations from a textbook.
The short weekly show is called What Does ThatEven Mean?
And this longer Sunday conversation is Juan'ssecond year.
That gives us a reason to follow you each week.
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And you do not have to hear the earlier episodesto join us today.
Although I hope you will.
So, what happened at the cafe?
A few Saturdays ago, my manager Dawn took me intothe back room.
It is not really a room, just some boxes and onechair.
I thought I had done something wrong.
And had you?
No, she asked me to run the Saturday shift.
She told me I was the person who asked questionswhen I did not understand.
That is quite a change from your first year.
A year ago, I nodded at everything.
Now, asking questions helped me get this job.
Did you tell your mother?
On our Sunday call, at seven, as always.
I knew the English words shift supervisorimmediately.
I had to stop and remember the Spanish wordencargado.
And then came your first shift in charge.
Yes, at 11, the empty glasses came back from thetables.
Usually, I carry them to the back.
This time, I needed to ask Sue to do it.
Who is Sue?
She is 56 and has worked there for 11 years.
She knows that cafe better than I do.
What did you say?
I said, take the glasses to the back.
The instruction was clear.
What happened next?
She took the glasses.
But she looked at me and I thought I had soundedrude.
I did not ask her, so I cannot know exactly whatshe felt.
Still, I felt uncomfortable and I carriedeverything myself for the next four hours.
That must have been exhausting.
It was.
On the number four bus home, I remember how Suehad asked me to carry glasses in the past.
What did she say?
She said, do you want to take the glasses to theback?
And you realized it might have been a request.
Yes, I had heard the words as a question aboutwhat I wanted.
But in that situation, she probably meant, pleasetake the glasses to the back.
That is easy to miss when you are learning thelanguage.
It is also worth checking the situation beforedeciding what somebody means.
Words, tone, relationship and urgency all matter.
And a direct instruction can be appropriate,
especially when something needs doing immediately.
I wish somebody had told me that a year ago.
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Let us practice two useful ways to make therequest.
Listen, then repeat during the pause.
Could you take the glasses to the back?
That sounds like a request, especially with afriendly tone.
Would you mind taking the glasses to the back?
After would you mind, use a verb ending in ING.
Taking, not take.
You can add when you get a chance if the task isnot urgent.
Could you take the glasses to the back when youget a chance?
That gives the other person some flexibility.
More words do not automatically make a requestmore polite.
Choose a sentence that fits the person, the momentand the work.
And if someone asked you, do you want to take theglasses to the back?
Listen for the context.
It may be a real question or it may be a gentlerequest.
And if I cannot do it immediately, I can say I cando it after I finish this.
Exactly.
You can also ask, would you like me to do thatfirst?
What will you do differently on your next shift?
I will ask Sue instead of guessing what her lookmeant.
And I will remember that being in charge does notmean I have to sound like somebody else.
What is coming next Sunday?
I need to talk to someone about coffees that weremade incorrectly.
I have been thinking about it since Tuesday.
Then we will work through that together next week.
Before you go, there is another episode you canlisten to.
Who are you in English?
Explores why speaking another language can makeyou feel different from your usual self.
I knew every word I said to Sue.
I still did not sound like the person I wanted tobe.
That is why these two episodes belong together.
Find the transcript, the vocabulary and the freestudy materials on yourenglishtoolbox.com.
Thank you for spending this time with us.
Thank you for listening to my story.
See you next Sunday.